By Kayode Ketefe
A
recent report from the dailies had it that about than 100 women from
Enugu-Ezike in Igboeze-North Local Government area of Enugu state stormed the
office of the Executive Governor of the state,
Sullivan Chime, to protest the alleged killing of 11 women for
rituals purposed in the area.
The
said protesters, who wore black dresses and wielded tender palm fronds alleged
that some Chief Priests of different deities in the area, who hold apparent
sway on the people, were guilty of perpetrating the killings in order
consolidate their stronghold on peoples’ lives.
While
the cause of the alleged death and who were responsible may still need to be proved,
what is incontestable is that the alleged victims died in mysterious
circumstances. The development is just a reminder of the ever-existing,
if not growing, culture of ritual killings in the country.
It
is a practice that has unfortunately become regular occurrences. Last
month, we read the chilling report of a cold blooded ritual murder of a young
woman in Ifo area of Ogun State. The woman’s corpse was deposited in the middle
of the road after the head had been cut off; her stomach had been ripped open
apparently to extricate organ considered useful for ritual purposes.
The
poor woman’ corpse showed that her left ankle was also amputated. One Morufu Olanrewaju, whom a serendipitous observer
allegedly saw depositing the mutilated corpse, had been arrested.
What
about the sad a case of a 100 level Accounting student of the Ladoke Akintola
University (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Miss Oluwaseun Adaramoye, who was
declared missing for a few days only for her corpse to be found behind a
popular guest house at the Under-G area of the town on Friday 20 June, 2013.
Again, many parts of her body, including her brain, vagina, and breast had been
removed by her killers.
The
cases of ritual-inspired cruel murders are just too rare to mention.
Apart from proven murder cases, we have also had numerous incidences of
sudden disappearances where victims were never seen or heard of again. We could
all remember the famous Otokoto saga in Owerri in1996 where the police
successfully smashed an underground syndicate headed by, Chief Vincent Duru.
After seven years of trial, Otokoto and his fellow ritual killers were
sentenced to death by hanging.
But
the problem is far more rampant that we used to envisage. The truth is this: In
almost every major market in the country there is a thriving underground market
that runs parallel to it which specialises in purveyance of human body parts.
These
range from head, heart, brains, tongue to breast and even private parts.
Because
these items are purveyed in virtual market rather than the real market (though
the physical location may be the same) the uninitiated who want to purchase
them for whatever purposes may be prowling the market from morning till night
without seeing anything to buy.
Without
the use of coded language and signs the dealer would not budge an inch even if
she had full stocks of contraband human parts. In most cases the dealers
would sell only to accredited agents.
This
practice of ritual killings is inextricably tied to the belief that these human
parts are vital ingredients for money-making ritual or acquisition of some
mystical powers. Some politicians also patronise the human parts black market
for the latter purpose. It is an indictment of Nigerian moral character
that despite the proliferation of churches and mosques, this illicit practice
of callous killings of fellow beings for envisaged selfish gains, keeps
soaring.
Really,
the strange belief that human parts could be used to procure money in some
supernatural way or procure electoral advantage or attain some super human
feats in any way is a belief rooted in outright ignorance. Unfortunately, it is
this irrational belief itself that is sustaining the market rather than the
potency of the ritual. It is pure superstition thriving on lack of
enlightenment.
Many
perpetrators of this horrifying practice have been arrested, prosecuted
sentenced to long term imprisonment, or death, and many have been executed to
serve as deterrent to others. But the fact that the problem remains intractable
only goes to prove that the best approach to eliminate this wickedness should
not be restricted to legal alone, more importantly, there is need for proper
education and enlightenment.
Once
people are made aware of the fact that dead human body parts would simply
decompose as they have no inherent powers in them and that nobody would get
rich or obtain any power by making use of these parts in some god-forsaken
primitive rituals, the practice would gradually disappear.
Our
government should place greater premium on sciences in curricula of our schools
while the mass media should embrace the responsibility to desensitise the minds
of the people to superstitious beliefs that have no empirical validity.
Other
influencers like the Nollywood filmmakers themselves need to be enlightened on
the kinds of films they churn out. They should not be sowing the seeds of
primitive beliefs that run contrary to critical thinking. Propagation of
knowledge and truths needs to be combined with the legal approach to eradicate
this criminality, ignorance and shame.
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